When Middle-Class Parents Choose Urban Schools: Class, Race, and the Challenge of Equity in Public Education

Linn Posey-Maddox

Abstract

This book examines the school choices and engagement of middle- and upper middle-class parents in urban education. It is based upon ethnographic research conducted in a California public elementary school affected by demographic change. The book contributes to the literature on economic integration and school choice through its exploration of an understudied phenomenon: school demographic shifts driven by the outreach, marketing, and volunteerism of middle-class parents, rather than by district policies and practices. The findings indicate that the engagement of a racially mixed group of midd ... More

This book examines the school choices and engagement of middle- and upper middle-class parents in urban education. It is based upon ethnographic research conducted in a California public elementary school affected by demographic change. The book contributes to the literature on economic integration and school choice through its exploration of an understudied phenomenon: school demographic shifts driven by the outreach, marketing, and volunteerism of middle-class parents, rather than by district policies and practices. The findings indicate that the engagement of a racially mixed group of middle- and upper middle-class families in what had been a predominantly African American, working-class school brought new resources, diversity, and educational opportunities to the school. At the same time, however, the demographic, sociocultural, and material changes brought about new and exacerbated old tensions within the school community related to race, class, and residence in the school and broader district. The findings suggest that school reform strategies that depend upon middle-class parent engagement—without policies and practices to ensure that low-income families also participate in and benefit from school change—can create new patterns of educational inequality, often despite parents’ best intentions. The book argues that urban school transformation efforts should be evaluated based upon the goal of equitable developments in urban education. Doing so would require a focus not simply on outcomes like rising test scores and increased enrollment, but also on issues of access and opportunity for low-income students as school communities begin to change.

End Matter

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